Stopper rod assemblies



United States Patent O lled Oct. 22, 1959, Ser. No. 847,968 2 Claims. (Cl. 22-85) This invention relates to stoppei's and stopper rod assemV blies.

In the steel industry, the increased steel tonnages require a longer pouring time and higher pouring tempera- 'tures and have given rise to a real problem in stopper rod assemblies.

In some stopper rod assemblies a stopper bolt is inserted through a bore in the bottom of the stopper, the bore being plugged after the bolt is in place. The bolt extends upwardly and is connected to the rod. The increased pouring temp'erature and increased tonnages causes accelerated erosion at the lbottom or nose portion of the stopper, particularly in the case of Stoppers having plugged bottoms.

This invention has for its salient object to provide a stopper having a solid nose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stopper rod assembly that is simple and practical in construction and is so constructed and arranged that the stopper rod can be easily and quickly assembled in the stopper and can be securely connected thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stopper rod assembly so worked out as to partially thermally insulate the rod or the bolt from the stopper.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following speciiication taken in connection with the drawings which form a part of this application, and in which FIG. l is a vertical sectional elevation of a stopper rod assembly embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation taken substantially on line 2-2 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional elevation similar to FIG. l but showing a modified form of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical elevation of the sleeve shown in FIG. 3.

In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. l and 2, the stopper rod 10 has a solid nose 11 and has a downwardly extending bore or recess 12, at the lower end of which is an enlarged, laterally extending recess 13 and a reduced extension 14.

A stopper rod bolt 15 which is connected at its upper end to the stopper rod has on its lower end a flange or washer 16. The ange or washer 16 tits into the recess l14 at the lower end of the recess 12.

1A spiral .groove 20 is formed on the Wall of the recess 12 and extends downwardly from the top of the stopper. Refractory balls 21 are introduced into the groove 20 at the upper end thereof and move downwardly inthe recess 12 until they rest on the top of the flange or washer 16, as shown in FIG. l. When so disposed they extend into the recess portion 13. It will be noted that the grooves 20 are semicircular in section and the balls, when passing through the groove, extend into the recess 12 between the bolt 15 and the wall of the recess.

If desired, after the balls have been deposited in the groove and have reached the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 above the ange 16, the space around the bolt 15 may be lilled with granular material or cement.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a sleeve 25 having a spiral groove 26 therein is placed around the stopper -rod bolt 15, and the recess 27, which corresponds to the recess 12 in FIG. l, is grooved in a manner corresponding to the groove 26. The remaining structure in FIG. 3 is the same as that shown in FIG. l.

In order to secure the stopper rod bolt to the stopper, balls are placed in the groove and rolled downwardly until they rest upon the upper surface of the washer or flange 16.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the stopper rod assembly is simple and practical in construction and that the stopper rod bolt can be easily and quickly secured to the stopper.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention have been particularly shown and described it will be understood that the invention is capable of modication and that changes in the construction and in the arrangement of the various cooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A stopper rod assembly comprising a solid nose including a bore in one end communicating with an intermediate, enlarged recess and terminating in a reduced dimension recess, a stopper rod bolt disposed in said bore and including a terminal flange received in said reduced dimension recess, said bore includingfa continuous helical groove on the inner periphery thereof from said one end of the nose to said enlarged recess, and refractory balls insertable through said groove and disposed in circumposed relation in said enlarged recess on the terminal ange of said stopper rod bolt, and a refractory material disposed in said helical groove and bore and retaining said nose, balls and bolt in assembled relation.

2. The structure of claim 1; and a tubular sleeve circumposed about said bolt and received in said bore, said sleeve including an outer helical groove portion complementary to that of said nose, said refractory balls being receivable through said helical groove portions of both said nose and said sleeve, said complementary groove containing said refractory material.

Referenees Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 712,450 Allendorfer Oct. 28, 1902 1,492,199 Brosius Apr. 29, 1924 1,719,795 Bacon July 2, 1929 1,736,725 Sheater Nov. 19, 1929 2,480,212 Baines Aug. 30, 1949 2,556,152 Cieslak June 5, 1951 2,777,718 Vegren Ian. l5, 1957 2,802,373 Schottler Aug. 13, 1957 

